"Draupadi said,--'Wait a little, thou worst of men, thou wicked-minded
Dussasana. I have an act to perform--a high duty that hath not been
performed by me yet. Dragged forcibly by this wretch's strong arms, I
was deprived of my senses. I salute these reverend seniors in this
assembly of the Kurus. That I could not do this before cannot be my
fault.'"
Vaisampayana said,--"Dragged with greater force than before, the
afflicted and helpless Draupadi, undeserving of such treatment, falling
down upon the ground, thus wept in that assembly of the Kurus,--
"'Alas, only once before, on the occasion of the Swayamvara, I was
beheld by the assembled kings in the amphitheatre, and never even once
beheld afterwards. I am to-day brought before this assembly. She whom
even the winds and the sun had seen never before in her palace is
to-day before this assembly and exposed to the gaze of the crowd. Alas,
she whom the sons of Pandu could not, while in her palace, suffer to be
touched even by the wind, is to-day suffered by the Pandavas to be
seized and dragged by this wretch. Alas, these Kauravas also suffer
their daughter-in-law, so unworthy of such treatment, to be thus
afflicted before them. It seemeth that the times are out of joint. What
can be more distressing to me, than that though high-born and chaste, I
should yet be compelled to enter this public court? Where is that
virtue for which these kings were noted? It hath been heard that the
kings of ancient days never brought their wedded wives into the public
court. Alas, that eternal usage hath disappeared from among the
Kauravas. Else, how is it that the chaste wife of the Pandavas, the
sister of Prishata's son, the friend of Vasudeva, is brought before
this assembly? Ye Kauravas, I am the wedded wife of king Yudhishthira
the just, hailing from the same dynasty to which the King belonged.
Tell me now if I am a serving-maid or otherwise. I will cheerfully
accept your answer. This mean wretch, this destroyer of the name of the
Kurus, is afflicting me hard. Ye Kauravas, I cannot bear it any longer.
Ye kings, I desire ye to answer whether ye regard me as won or unwon. I
will accept your verdict whatever it be.'
"Hearing these words, Bhishma answered, 'I have already said, O blessed
one that the course of morality is subtle. Even the illustrious wise in
this world fail to understand it always. What in this world a strong
man calls morality is regarded as such by others, however otherwise it
may really be; but what a weak man calls morality is scarcely regarded
as such even if it be the highest morality. From the importance of the
issue involved, from its intricacy and subtlety, I am unable to answer
with certitude the question thou hast asked. However, it is certain
that as all the Kurus have become the slaves of covetousness and folly,
the destruction of this our race will happen on no distant date. O
blessed one, the family into which thou hast been admitted as a
daughter-in-law, is such that those who are born in it, however much
they might be afflicted by calamities, never deviate from the paths of
virtue and morality. O Princess of Panchala, this conduct of thine
also, viz. that though sunk in distress, thou still easiest thy eyes on
virtue and morality, is assuredly worthy of thee. These persons, Drona
and others, of mature years and conversant with morality, sit heads
downwards like men that are dead, with bodies from which life hath
departed. It seemeth to me, however, that Yudhishthira is an authority
on this question. It behoveth him to declare whether thou art won or
not won.'"